


Up in Smoke

by K_K_TiBal



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Croatoan/Endverse, Angst, Drug Use, M/M, Mild Gore
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-01
Updated: 2015-02-01
Packaged: 2018-03-10 01:27:33
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,163
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3271688
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/K_K_TiBal/pseuds/K_K_TiBal
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Endverse!Castiel once talked about the time he first broke his leg as a new human. This is that time.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Up in Smoke

**Author's Note:**

> Angsty Ficlet I originally posted to tumblr. It's also my own personal headcanon.

_"Can’t you drive this thing any faster?"_

From the brief, panicked glimpse he’d managed to spare towards the driver, Dean’s yelling only seemed to be making Risa’s grip on the steering wheel tighten and her jaw clench in stress.

"I’m doing the best I can!" She snapped back, making a sharp right. The jeep bounced over uneven terrain, causing Castiel to cry out in agony and shoot up into a sitting position. 

Dean shoved him back down with a strong arm across his chest to keep him from clawing at his leg again. 

"Hey! Cas, it’s gonna be okay. You hear me?" One hand reached for his friend’s face, trying to bring him down from the haze on pain. "Keep the leg straight and stay down. We’re almost there."

The raid wasn’t supposed to have turned out like this. It should have been a clean, in-and-out, grab-and-go with time to take the scenic route back if they’d really wanted. 

It had been Dean’s fault.

 

He’d thought they’d scouted out the area enough to determine that all the Croats had vacated. He should have spent more time making sure—he should have  _double-checked_ —before sending Cas and a small team to start the recovery. Instead he had to watch in horror as the plan fell to shit, and only just manage to pull the former angel to safety.

Dean’s hands were covered in blood. Cas’s blood. He’d done his best to wrap it up and stop the bleeding with some heavy duty bandages they’d brought just in case, but there was only so much he could do when human bone was protruding from the flesh. 

Luckily, the damage hadn’t actually been made by a Croat, just the outcome of making a risky jump while trying to outrun one, so the chances of him going rabid were slim. 

His gaze shot back to Castiel’s face the moment all of the tortured moans faded into silence and his head fell slack. “Cas you gotta stay with me. C’mon, man.” Dean smacked his cheek a few times, trying to get him to wake up. No doubt the pain had been to much for his newly human body to handle. 

Shit. 

Risa brought the car to a skidding stop once they’d breached the barrier of their camp and Dean jumped out of the car the moment he was able. 

"Medic! We need the Doc over here! _Where is she?”_

People ran in all directions, sensing that something had obviously gone wrong on the raid. A few men raced over to help him gently lift Castiel out the vehicle and onto the ground while they waited for the camp’s Doc to get there. 

"Wake up, Cas. Please." Dean knelt down next him, gripping his upper arm. He’d promised himself a long time ago that he wouldn’t show any sort of… weakness to the other members of their small camp but this was  _Cas._ "We made it back, just like I promised."

Dean swallowed with relief when Castiel let out a low moan. He managed to open his eyes briefly just before they rolled back into his head, his face contorting with misery yet again.

Cas still wasn’t completely used to human sensations yet. Hunger. Need. Pain. It was all still raw and new.

He had to be in so much pain. 

After what felt like  _years_  too long, the Doc rushed forward, shoving her way through the small crowd. 

Doc had been rescued on a raid to a local pharmacy and Dean had been grateful on many occasions for that small miracle in their lives. She knew what she was doing and they were lucky to have her, especially in times like now. 

She looked at Cas’s leg grimly and glanced around her. “I’m going to try and reset the bone, After that we need to try and move him back inside, got it?”

Dean nodded numbly, trying to block out his friend’s cries at the slightest movement to his leg. 

"Dean. Leave." 

Dean’s head shot up. 

"Like hell," he snarled back. 

Doc spared him a glare as she unwound the bindings, revealing the torn flesh and visible bone. “ _You_  will be of no use to me here while I set the bone. Trust me.” She gave him a knowing look and tossed the bloody rags aside. “I know we’ve run dangerously low on pain killers, but see what you can find. He’s gonna need whatever you can get him.”

Dean clenched his jaw stubbornly, and nodded once before racing into camp to find their supplies. 

They had none. 

None anywhere in the medical cabin. 

None in any personal stashes. 

They had completely wiped out their entire supply of pain medication. 

He slammed his fist against the wall of the medical cabin, choking back an angry sob that was threatening to escape.

His best friend—the one person who’d managed to stick with him through everything—was going through more pain than he’d ever had to in a long time. And there was nothing he could do to give him any relief from the pain that was caused by  _his_ mistake.  _  
_

This had happened to him because _Dean_  had been careless. 

Dean’s eyes snapped open as an idea came to him. A desperate one that he wasn’t sure would be effective, but an idea nonetheless. 

He quickly made his way over to where he knew a few members of their camp stored away their own means of coping with this hellhole of a world they lived in. 

Dean tore out the drawer and searched the contents until he found what he was looking for. 

Anything to make the pain bearable, right?

When Dean made it back to where he’d left Castiel and the Doc, there was fresh gauze over the leg and Castiel’s face looked startlingly pale, but at least he was awake. 

"Hey, Cas. I got something for you. It should help with the pain, okay?" 

Castiel swallowed but nodded, not even knowing what it was Dean was offering him but obviously desperate for any kind of relief. 

Dean delicately held the joint between two fingers, lighting one end on fire with a lighter that had once been used to for hunting purposes and pressed it against Cas’s lips. It took a few tries of coughing and hacking before he managed to get the hang of the smoke entering his lungs. 

The more Castiel inhaled, the more relaxed he became and more guilt piled on top of Dean’s shoulders. He couldn’t help but feel like he was aiding in the corruption of an angel. 

It was just one joint. 

That was all. 

Just to help the pain. 

By the time the joint had mostly turned into a smoldering stump, a delirious smile was haunting Castiel’s features, as if he’d already forgotten about the world around him. 

Dean would have turned away if he’d known it was the same smile that would haunt him for the next five years. 


End file.
